News for Undergraduates

From Flickr user eyewashdesign: A. Golden

UPDATE 4/22: Congratulations to our winner Ryan Sanchez (@RESanchez33 on Twitter)!

Thanks to all of the poets who submitted entries through Twitter and the haiku table at the Libraries Fair!  It was an incredibly difficult decision and we wish we had prizes for all of you.

Here’s Ryan’s winning entry, submitted via Twitter:

Stacks of books abound

hours of time spent studying

research aids success

********

So many great library contests this week in honor of National Library Week and Research Week!

April 17 is National Haiku Poetry Day! Compose a haiku that celebrates libraries and/or research for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the University Co-op.

Three ways to share your haiku with us and enter the contest:

1) Post it to our wall on Facebook

2) Post it to Twitter (either the whole poem if it fits or a link to it elsewhere) with the hashtag #utlibhaiku

3) Stop by the Libraries Fair on the PCL Plaza from 11:30-1:30 on Wednesday, April 17 and write it down at the haiku table along with your email address.

A winner will be chosen and notified on Monday, April 22.  By entering, you give us permission to share your entry on this blog and via Facebook and Twitter.

Need some help getting started?  To quote HaikuMaker.com, haiku is “an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.”

Here are some library-themed examples, composed by our Science Instruction Librarian, Roxanne Bogucka:

What excites desire
more than the Recent Books shelf
in a library?

Tempting New Books shelf—
destroyer of self-restraint,
wreck my willpower!

Scholarly shamus
and research findings flatfoot—
I, Librarian.

Good luck!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winner, Shannon W.!

Your mission should you choose to accept it: become the Mayor of PCL on Foursquare by 11:59pm on Sunday May 5.  You’ll win a Mayor t-shirt and other great prizes from Foursquare, the location-based social networking site.  

The next time you’re at PCL, check in on Foursquare.  The person with the most check-ins during the last 60 days will ascend to Mayor of the location and will be our winner.  

Only one check-in per day counts towards becoming Mayor, so there’s already competition for the title.  We watch the Mayor of PCL change frequently.  Start checking in ASAP!

Details on claiming the mayorship of a location can be reviewed here.

Not familiar with Foursquare? Check out this short video explaining how to use it.

Questions? Let us know in the comments.  

Good luck!

Don’t forget to bring some cash for the Spring Plant Sale happening this Thursday from 8:00AM to 1:00PM on the PCL Plaza.  All sale proceeds will be donated to Meals on Wheels.

We’ll have houseplants, vegetable starts and a great selection of drought tolerant landscape plants!

Plants for sale include:

Houseplants
Spider plants
Airplane
Arrowhead
Aloe Vera
Small Cactus and Succulents
Hoyas
Bromeliads (snake plant, mother-in-laws tongue)
Pothos
Lamb’s Ear
Sword Fern (can take the heat in the shade)

Vegetable and herbs for the garden
Tomatoes
Tomatillos
Basil
Rosemary
Cilantro

Landscape Plants
Agave (three varieties)
Aloes
Native Aster
Gregg’s Mistflower (butterfly magnet)
Red Bud seedling
Ornamental grasses (two varieties)
Wandering Jews
Cactus (various varieties)

And many more!

Check out just a small selection of the awesome plants donated (and grown) by Dr. Fred Heath, Vice Provost and Director of the Libraries.

Sure, we have lots and lots of books at PCL, but we know you need to borrow other things from time to time.  Here’s a list of all the gadgets and tools you can checked out from the PCL Reserves Desk.  All the items below have a 24-hour checkout period and require a UT ID to borrow.

Headphones

Texas Instruments TI-89 Titanium Graphing Calculators

Texas Instruments TI-36 Scientific Calculators

Multi-phone Chargers (ChargeAll): Compatible with Apple iPhone (not iPhone 5) & iPod, Micro USB, Mini USB, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Female USB, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DS Lite, Android, Blackberry, HTC, Motorola, Pantech, Kindle E-Reader

USB Microphones

Ethernet Cables

The following items for use in the Presentation Practice Rooms:

Mac VGA Adapters

Mediascape Audio Connectors

Is there something we don’t offer for checkout that you wish we did?  Let us know in the comments.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Valentine’s Day Raffle!  Over 400 people took the time to share what they loved about the Libraries both online and in our libraries.  Here are the five randomly-selected winning responses:

“I love the seats besides the window on the 4th floor [of PCL] – the sunshine and the calmness there.  I’m really shocked and a little moved by how many Chinese books are here.”

“I love the Classics Library because it is a friendly, quiet place to study and work and it is true to its name!  It will never go out of style!  Roses are red, the OCT section is blue, Classics Library, we’ll always love you!”

“The staff are incredibly helpful if you are having trouble looking for books or other resources. I never feel uncomfortable asking them questions. I also appreciate that there is a great selection of recently published books near the front entry of the PCL because I often find myself picking through there and discovering new books to put on my ‘to read’ list.”

“The request system – it’s really wonderful to be able to pick up books and CDs up at the library in RLM, where I spend all of my time anyway!”

“I love that I have a beautiful working space at the FAL.  The large windows overlooking trees help me to be calm and focused while doing my work.  Additionally, everything I need is right around me.  I have to access to reference materials, Mac computers, printers, etc., not to mention the staff who have always been so helpful.”

Wondering what other people said?  Check out this word cloud that represents frequently used words in responses to the question “What do you love about the Libraries?”

Thanks to everyone who participated!